Alaska: Gates of the Arctic National Park

I am so flipping excited to finally share the details of our Alaska trip this summer: we’re going to Gates of the Arctic National Park!

Y’all, I can’t even begin to explain how out-of-control psyched I am for this backpacking trip. I’ve been to Alaska before, but I never got to do any camping or backpacking while there. We took my Grandma back in 2004 (it was her final state in her 50-state conquest!), and while we got to visit some beautiful areas in Denali and even took a tiny plane up to Barrow, I’ve been itching to go back and explore.

My sis, me, my Grandma, and my mom — touching the Arctic Ocean in Barrow

All of us inside jaw structure of a whale in Barrow

You see, I’ve been dying to find a place that is truly wild. Yes, I do a lot of backpacking and exploring in other parts of the US, but I’ve never been able to feel like I’m completely off the grid. Even if I pack in for five days without seeing another person, I still know that I am fairly close to civilization. I want to find a wilderness that is untouched and pristine.

In fact, one of my all-time favorite books is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. If you’re unfamiliar, it is the story of a young man named Chris McCandless who was raised in a privileged family but chose to leave it all to walk into the wild. He burns all of his money and spends some time traipsing around the US before ending up in Alaska. He decides to live in the wild, and eventually heads into the rugged interior via the Stampede Trail, carrying no more than 10 lbs. of rice, a rifle, a camera, and a book detailing the area’s edible plants. He had initially planned to survive in the woods but his body was found by some hunters on September 6, 1992.

Obviously, I don’t want to walk into the wild to die; far from it! However, McCandless’s spirit for adventure has always struck a chord with me and led to a fascination with the interior of Alaska. I can understand his need to find an untouched piece of land when the majority of the country is developed and covered in structures. So, Will and I started to talk about where we could find this level of wilderness: Gates of the Arctic pushed to the front of the line and the end of August is penciled in on our calendars!

Gates of the Arctic is the northernmost park in the US as it is located north of the Arctic Circle. Yup, we’ll be backpacking and camping above the arctic circle! The Brooks Range sweeps through the park which covers more than 13,000 miles and is roughly the size of Switzerland. However, it’s not so simple to get to the park: there are no roads this far north!

For the most part, the road structures in Alaska end at Fairbanks. However, there is one solitary interstate known as the Dalton Highway that stretches from Fairbanks north to Deadhorse on the Arctic Ocean. However, the Dalton is not your typical road; it runs parallel to the Trans-Alaskan pipeline and is mainly used by semi trucks that are transporting goods. There are only three towns along the 414-mile road, and the largest town, Deadhorse, only has 25 permanent residents and 3000 seasonal residents that arrive for oil production season. There is no cell service, and gas stations are hard to come by. In short, the Dalton will be an adventure in itself and we are still trying to find a car that we can use! (Rental agencies won’t allow their cars to be used on the Dalton).

After arriving in Fairbanks, we are planning on driving the Dalton north to the outskirts of a town called Bettles, population 12. From there, we have been communicating with a bush plane company who will pick us up and drop us into the interior of Gates of the Arctic. The specific drop off/pickup zones are to be determined, but we will then spend the next 5-6 days backpacking and packrafting through the interior.

Photo Source

Yup, packrafting will be part of our trip! Because Gates is so huge, we wanted to find an additional means of transportation in the park. After all, there are zero trails running through Gates, so bushwhacking will be tough and we will only be able to cover a small amount of miles each day. Fortunately, the park contains six rivers including the Kobuk and the Alatna, so we are currently doing some research to find the most mellow rapids. What does this mean? Basically, most of our movement from area to area will happen via packraft. We can then set up a camp area, and do plenty of day hiking trips from there. In short, it sounds like the best way to see more of the park.

So, who will be coming with me on this adventure? Glad you asked 🙂 Obviously, Will and I will both be there, but we wanted to have a few more people come along. Too few of a number isn’t safe, and too many people adds unnecessary chaos in the backcountry which is not what we need in a location as remote as Gates! Additionally, we needed a crew that was self-sufficient and knowledgeable with backpacking, comfortable with being uncomfortable, and able to handle the adventure that was about to get thrown at them.

1. Katie Levy: Y’all may know Katie from her outdoors blog, Adventure Inspired, but I originally met her in Havasupai in June. Katie was one of the original OmniTen with me, and she and I have become great friends. Katie spent a few years living in Alaska after college, but never got the opportunity to delve this far into the interior of the state. I’m psyched to have her along, and am wicked happy to have another gal along!
2. Shannon Croom: Shannon was the man behind Mission 29.2’s twitter account who initially found me and convinced me to sign up for the Haiti trip in January. Shannon is typically down for anything and promised me that he will pack in a microwave so that I am assured warm foods for dinner. He also promised to tackle a Grizzly should it decide to chase me. Score.
3. Stew Staniewsky: I’ve never actually met Stew, but he is one of Will’s closest childhood friends. The two of them are always plotting some type of adventure, and I’ve heard epic tales of Stew’s shenanigans via road trips in Mongolia. He is also proving to be an expert researcher and is pulling the details of this trip together like you’ve never seen. So impressed by this guy and I haven’t even met him!

There you have it; the motley crew that will be tackling Gates of the Arctic in August, 2013! Obviously, there are a lot of details that need to be hammered out and I’m sure y’all will see more posts in the coming months. Stay tuned!

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The winner of the Sweet Relish box of goodies is:

Rachel from RachelESimms.com

Send me an email and we’ll get you hooked up with your box of toys!

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Do you have any adventures planned for this summer?